Decline in Reading Culture - Essay Sample

Introduction

Reading habits have drastically changed over the years. While some of the changes have been positive, others have been negative. The decline in the reading culture is one of the most visible changes. It has been advanced that the current generation reads less than the previous generations. It has also been held that contrary to the mainstream belief, the current generation reads but using different means. For instance, the decline in reading of physical has been replaced by newer modes such as e-books. Therefore, the reading culture might not have declined after all. To shed more light on these issues, this paper seeks to establish whether the reading culture is really on the decline, the causes for the decline, as well as the ways to reverse the trend.

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The Decline in Reading Culture

Various studies have suggested that the reading culture is on the decline. For instance, the amount of time spent reading for personal interest among Americans fell from 0.36 hours to 0.29 hours between 2003 and 2016 (Crain). People of all ages are losing interest in reading, and the place previously occupied by reading in the society appears to be shrinking. According to the American Time Use Survey, the number of Americans who read for fun has fallen by more than 30% since 2004 (Ingraham). The decline was established to be higher among men, whose percentage dropped by 40% in the same period (Ingraham). The decline in leisure-reading cut across all ages. The statistics from this survey agree with other studies carried out by different organizations. A survey carried out by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) revealed that the number of adults who frequently read fell from 57% in 1982 to 43% in 2015 (Ingraham).

However, other studies have revealed that the decline in reading culture is just an assumption. A study carried out by Pew Research showed that the percentage of adults who had read a book in the past one year had risen from 72% in 2015 to 73% in 2016 (Warner). The readership of e-books had held steady at 28% (Warner). Moreover, though it is widely believed that the decline in reading culture is particularly prevalent among the millennials, the study revealed that 80% of millennials had read a book in the previous year (Warner). A study tracing the changes in reading habits from the 1980s revealed that millennials have not stopped reading. Instead, they have turned to modern equivalents such as e-book (Caleb). This study largely deconstructed the assumption that reading has dramatically declined in the past few years. It also showed that the culture of reading books was enduring the far-reaching shifts happening in the broader culture (Caleb).

Moreover, the credibility of the studies that show a decline in reading culture has been questioned. For instance, most of these studies heavily rely on asking the participants the number of books read in the previous year or the number of hours spent reading on a particular day. Some people cannot remember these details while others exaggerate to look smarter.

Causes of the Decline

The rise of the internet has mostly been blamed for the decline in reading culture. More and more people are distancing themselves from books and reading in favor of electronic gadgets like tablets and smartphones. The more time people spend on the internet, the less time they have to read books. Moreover, rather than read books, people prefer searching for various topics on the internet. However, the knowledge acquired from the internet cannot substitute the qualitative values obtained from reading a book. The information gained from the internet is also worrisome (Pennington and Waxler 92). Moreover, contrary to the mainstream belief, the phenomenon is not only widespread among only the young but cuts across all demographics. The people that should serve as the role models for the young have also been affected by the shift (Moon).

Various changes in society have also contributed to this trend. For instance, new mobile devices are promoted with more enthusiasm than reading material and book launches. Most people also take more pride in owning various gadgets rather than owning books. The modern life has also become increasingly fast. As people try to get the balance between family, work, and education, reading books for pleasure is easily overlooked. Discussions on what people had read or planned to read were common in the past. However, nowadays, television programs dominate people's conversations. A study carried out in the Netherlands showed that as the TV time exploded from 1955 to 1995, weekly reading time declined. This has also played a part in the decline of reading culture (Ingraham). Moreover, as the average reading time in the United States fell, the average time spent watching TV rose.

Therefore, competition from television is the most evident cause of the fall in reading culture. This can be proven by the fact that reading culture was on the decline in the 1980s, before the advent of social media, which has primarily borne the blame for the decline in reading (Ingraham). The decline of the status given to education has also gone down in society further pushing society away from the culture of reading. The trend is dangerous for society, and hence, measures should be taken to reverse the trend.

Dangers of the Decline

A decline in the reading culture affects the society in many ways. People in such a society spend less time with ideas that they disagree with. They also get less inclined to fact-checking, a factor that would cause the society to fall back on hunches (Crain). Moreover, though screen-based literature is being embraced by more people, reading books possesses an irreplaceable power (Pennington and Waxler). Reading also triggers imagination and stimulates quick learning. Reading also helps improve communication, especially among young readers. Children who develop good reading habits at an early age have also been shown to comprehend situations better than those who do not read. Studies have also shown a correlation between academic achievement and independent reading (Loh et al. 340). Regardless of the cause, the fall of the reading culture leads to a loss of mode of thinking (Ulin 40). Most importantly, functional literacy empowers members of the society with the skills and knowledge to tackle various issues in the society such as environmental degradation, poverty, among others. Therefore, the decline in reading is dangerous for society and must be remedied.

Ways to Reverse the Trend

Investing more in libraries both in schools and communities is one of the most potent ways of nurturing a reading culture. When children in schools are exposed to reading at the libraries, the habits are bound to be retained through life (Tralagba and Baro 85). Since children pick up most of their practices from their parents, creating an environment that promotes reading at home can also help create a reading culture. The fact that reading has also experienced a decline among elder citizens means that the young will grow up without role models. Therefore, to reverse the trend, efforts should be targeted at the entire population rather than just the young.

As a response to the trend as well as the changing technology, online reading materials should be promoted, and online book clubs should be set up (Mangen 260). This is informed by the revelation that the young generation prefers screen-based literature over the traditional paper-based literature. Though it has been said that digital literacy cannot substitute old literacy, the changes in preferences of the population cannot be ignored. Such moves can help promote a reading culture in the current generation. It has been proven that technology can help enhance reading. For instance, screen-based literature avenues such as Kindle are gaining more popularity. More research, therefore, should be carried out to find ways in which these avenues can help promote reading culture in the modern world.

Conclusion

Though various studies have shown that no significant decline has occurred in reading culture, it is clear that people's reading habits have changed over time. Reading is also facing competition from other media such as television and social media. The net effect of these changes is that people spend more time watching television or on social media and hence leave no time for reading. Screen-based literature is also being consumed more than paper-based literature, especially among the young. Reading has several benefits for society. Therefore, efforts must be put into place to reverse the decline in reading culture. Investing more in libraries is one of the remedies to the threat. School and public libraries expose children to reading at a young age, and hence, they are bound to retain the habits throughout their lifetimes. Since children emulate the behavior of the elders, the older population should embrace reading to serve as role models for the younger population. Finally, screen-based literature should be promoted since it is the current trend. These measures can help reverse the trend and enable society to harness the full potential of reading.

Works Cited

Caleb, Ajinomoh Ozovehe. "Millennial reading habits have changed the definition of a classic." 21 July 2018. Quartzy. 31 May 2019. <https://qz.com/quartzy/1332213/millennial-reading-habits-have-changed-the-definition-of-a-classic/>.

Crain, Caleb. "Why We Don't Read, Revisited." 14 June 2018. The New Yorker. 16 June 2019. <https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/why-we-dont-read-revisited>.

Ingraham, Christopher. "Leisure reading in the U.S. is at an all-time low." 29 June 2018. The Washington Post. 16 June 2019. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/29/leisure-reading-in-the-u-s-is-at-an-all-time-low/?utm_term=.73d4c381443c>.

Mangen, Anne. "The digitization of literary reading: contributions from empirical research." Orbis litterarum 71.3 (2016): 240-262. <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/oli.12095>.

Moon, Jeenah. "How Technology Is (and Isn't) Changing Our Reading Habits." 17 January 2018. The New York Times. 31 May 2019. <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/technology/personaltech/how-technology-is-and-isnt-changing-our-reading-habits.html>.

Pennington, Martha C. and Robert P. Waxler. Why reading books still matters: the power of literature in digital times. 1st. New York: Routledge, 2017. <https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315210247>.

Tralagba, Chris E. and Emmanuel E. Baro. "School libraries as catalyst for the development of reading culture among students." Information Impact: Journal of Information and Knowledge Management 9.1 (2018): 80-88. <https://www.ajol.info/index.php/iijikm/article/view/175791>.

Ulin, David. "Not reading between the lines: Books aren't just informative, they offer a space for quiet reflection. What happens if we lose the art of reading?" Index on Censorship 47.3 (2018): 39-41. <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422018800256>.

Warner, John. "Yes, people still read. The demise of books is greatly exaggerated." 28 September 2016. Chicago Tribune. 16 June 2019. <https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-1002-biblioracle-20160927-column.html>.